Fr. Stan receives the Order of the Palmetto

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Visitors are welcome at Mepkin Abbey, which is privately owned and is home for Trappist monks. Living according to the Rule of St. Benedict, the monks offer hospitality to strangers. At Mepkin, that means that the abbey’s gardens are open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Reception Center/Gift Shop is open Tuesday – Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (closed on Mondays); guided tours to the Abbey Church are offered Tuesday through Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (See details below) To maintain their lives of prayer, silence, privacy and solitude, the monks have a few important requests of all visitors:

• Upon arrival, please check in at the Reception Center/Gift Shop.

• Read and abide by all signs.

• Only two roads are open to the public: the main road which runs from the entrance to the public gardens, and the road which leads to the Reception Center & Store. Please stay on these two roads.

• Dogs must be on leashes at all times. (Please pick up after your dog.)

• Access to the Abbey church is by guided tour only. This access is limited because the church is in the monastic enclosure, the heart of the monastery.

• No professional photography allowed.

Tours

Guided tours to the Abbey Church are 11:30 AM and 3:00 PM Tuesdays to Saturdays. Tours are $5 per person (children and students free) which includes a guidebook of either the Gardens or the Monastery. (Note: The guided church tours include a walk from the Reception Center to the Abbey Church, a distance of about a quarter of a mile.) Reservations required for groups of 10 or more.

Visitors may enjoy the public gardens at their leisure.

Reception Center/Gift Shop

Once a month, on a Friday, the monks have a day of total silence and solitude. They call these the “Desert Days” and no tours of the monastery are given on these days. However, the Reception Center/Gift Shop and the gardens are open.

Upcoming Desert Days:

January 11
February 8
March 15
April 12
May 3
June 7
July 5
August 2
September 6
October 4
November 8
December 20

Mepkin Affiliate Program

On November 11, 2018, former Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. presented Fr. Stan the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest honor given to one of its citizens. The award, given by Governor Henry McMaster, was presented to Fr. Stan at one of the monastery’s Founders’ Day events.

The following is a note Fr. Stan wrote to the brothers at Mepkin after receiving the award:

I was totally overwhelmed at the award which I was given on Sunday. It was completely unexpected or anticipated. A lot of work went into it from many people. I am grateful to all of them.

This award is really given to the Mepkin Community. I have been the abbot and the focal point for many of the things we have done over these past twelve years. But all that I have learned and all I have been able to do to somehow deserve such an award has come from the community.

So please see this award as an award for each of us and enjoy it as such. It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by our State in such a way.

The quote read by Mayor Riley was perfect. “Our desire and hope is to continue to show the compassionate face of Christ in the Lowcountry and that reconciliation between divergent voices and groups and between human communities and our natural surroundings and ecosystems is always possible.” This is what Mepkin is all about and it is wonderful to see it recognized by our State.

The actual quote adds: “Mepkin is above all a place of prayer where God and his people can become one.”

May it continue to be so.

Vocation Thought for the Day

“… and they dropped their nets and followed Jesus.” What have I allowed to keep me from following the Lord’s call?